Engaged :)

This past weekend I flew out to see a guy I have been crazy in love with for 4 years. It was the most amazing trip, that ended in an engagement! I was so happy and how he did it was absolutely perfect. My ring is beautiful. He is the most amazing guy I have ever met. I continue to break out in random moments of tears because of how happy I am, and how crazy it is that this is happening. I have no clue how I got so lucky to get to marry this amazing of a guy. I have been dreaming about it for a long time, and now that its here, my heart is overwhelmingly full of joy. Again, I am so blessed.

 "I don't want this to end...."

 "Me neither"

 "Well, what should we do about that?"

 "Oh, I don't know. What do you think?"

 "Well I think you should marry me."

 "Oh really?"

 -reaching into pocket

"wait, what are you doing??? Is that a ring?!?!? No!!! No way!!! When did you get that??? No!!!"

 "Will you marry me Lauren?"

 "Well, yes!"

I love this boy more than I could ever say :) 

Opening Night of Annie :)

I am so blessed to be in a darling production of Annie with Music Theatre West at Ellen Eccles! Opening night was last night, and it turned out great. Here are a few fun pictures, but much more to come.

 Kelli and I after NYC! This girl is so cute.

 Some silly maids, my hat was in their faces.

 Boylan Sisters, my name is Bonnie ;)

 Maids for Daddy Warbucks!

 I love these orphans!

 These three wanted a "movie star" picture, whatver that means! So here are our movie star faces.

 Ms. Hannigan- so talented and so fun!

Star-to-be :)

3 bucks!!!

2 bags!!

1 me!

It's a Hard Knock Life

My life feels a little bit like Annie Annie Annie.... But I certainly love it :) Its going to be a really cute show. The rehearsals seem long and endless sometimes, but are still a blast! I sure love the people I get to spend all my nights with.

 Some of my fellow maids and I, waiting for our dance turn.

"Annie" and I at Pizza factory for lunch. I adore this little girl and her "melt-your-heart" voice.

Last night I was talking to a friend about how I didn't want tomorrow to happen and that it was going to be a hard day. I talked about... 

-work from 7- 10:30 am, 

-a 34 minutes drive to Lewiston for Practicum 

-from 11:15 to 12:00

-a 34 minutes drive back to USU

-class from 1:30 to 4:30

-Annie at 6 to 10

I found myself complaining about how busy I was... you know what he said? "Sounds like a blast Lauren!" Took me by surprise and was so grateful for that remark. Totally true! What a blast! I have

-an amazing job that I love

-a reliable car and saved money for gas

-a college education and major I love

-a play where I get to sing and dance!

Who am I to complain???? I am so, overwhelming, blessed. :) Wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm sure thankful for this boy :)

One roommate down, who's next?

Beautiful wedding, beautiful girl :) They were just glowing.

Power to Read

I just began my third to last semester before I graduate with my special education degree. I AM SO EXCITED! My classes are very intense and time consuming, but I'm finally into the stuff that I love! And I'm finally thinking to myself, "Oh ya, thats why I want to do this."

One of the great classes I get to take is SPED 5310, which is Teaching Reading and Language to Students with Disabilitites. I love this! This is where my passion lives. I find Reading to be at the root of most struggling students. If you can't read well, you can't do almost anything academic well. I would love to eventually be a reading specialist who researches and works with struggling elementary school students. I found this quote and loved it!

If you can read this... Thank a Teacher.

If you can read this in English... Thank a Soldier.

        And for life and everything  you have... Thank God.

 Some of my favorites as a child :)

 It is proven that children who are read to frequently and are exposed to reading material in the home are much more successful readers. This makes me very grateful to my mother who was constantly reading to me, and fostered a love of reading in me.

"This isn't just an economic thing – it's not just people who come from poor backgrounds, it's across the whole of society. You get a lot of children coming from very privileged backgrounds who've spent a lot of time in front of the TV and not enough time snuggled up with a good book. The TV does the imagining for you – and it doesn't care whether you're listening or not. Research shows that children who are read to on a regular basis before they start school are most likely to succeed. "It's a key predictor in terms of educational success." - Pie Corbett (The Guardian, Friday 30 April 2010)

How Lucky Are You?????

"A long-awaited federal study finds that an estimated 32 million adults in the USA — about one in seven — are saddled with such low literacy skills that it would be tough for them to read anything more challenging than a children's picture book or to understand a medication's side effects listed on a pill bottle."  -USA Today 2009

I am so blessed. You are too :)